An Extra Villain in Cultivation World-Chapter 75: Dual : II

If Yanmei continued refining at this pace using ordinary methods, he would inevitably surpass her. Realizing this, she immediately changed her technique and activated one of her Refinement Path killer moves.

Refinement Path Killer Move — Triple Pulse Flame Control.

The spiritual flame beneath Yanmei’s refining vessel immediately shifted. Instead of maintaining a single steady rhythm, the fire began pulsing in three controlled cycles. One pulse intensified the heat to melt materials faster, the second stabilized the reaction, and the third compressed the forming Gu embryo, forcing the refinement to advance at a noticeably faster pace.

Yanmei’s expression remained calm as she maintained the technique. If Xuanyan wanted to surpass her now, he would have to match the speed created by her refinement killer move.

But she had no intention of stopping there.

Over the years Yanmei had studied many mortal-grade refinement techniques, and under Mei Lingyao’s guidance she had even mastered a few heaven-grade methods. Drawing upon that experience, she activated another technique formed by combining several mortal methods around a heaven-grade foundation.

Refinement Path Killer Move — Jade Thought Four-Hand Refinement Art.

Streams of spiritual light surged from Yanmei’s mind and condensed above the refining table. Two small jade-like hands gradually formed in the air, their delicate shapes glowing with a faint emerald luster as they floated beside the vessel.

Yanmei’s real hands remained steady as she adjusted the intensity of the flames beneath the vessel, carefully maintaining the temperature so the molten materials would not destabilize. At the same time, the two jade phantom hands moved swiftly beside her, picking ingredients from the trays and adding them to the flames with flawless timing, accelerating the refinement without disturbing the rhythm of the fire.

"Quite impressive. Using two killer moves together... she must have spent years mastering those techniques. I really did not expect Yanmei to be this well prepared—she was hiding quite a lot, even from me," Mei Lingyao thought as she observed the refinement table. Under the effect of the two killer moves, Yanmei’s refining speed rose dramatically, allowing her to quickly regain the lead she had lost earlier. The flames beneath her vessel pulsed with a far more aggressive rhythm, yet the materials inside remained surprisingly stable.

A faint light appeared in Mei Lingyao’s eyes as she watched the competition unfold. She was genuinely curious now about how Xuanyan would respond. At the same time another thought surfaced in her mind. Xuanyan’s cultivation was only at Stage Four. Even if he understood refinement killer moves and managed to activate one, that would not necessarily benefit him. Killer moves were far more complicated than ordinary techniques, usually created by combining several methods together—sometimes two, sometimes three, and occasionally even more.

Naturally, techniques of that level consumed a large amount of spiritual essence. With Xuanyan’s current cultivation, attempting to sustain a heaven-grade refinement killer move would likely exhaust his energy almost immediately. If that happened, his control over the spiritual flame would collapse, and the entire refinement process could easily fail.

Thinking of this, Mei Lingyao’s gaze slowly shifted toward Xuanyan’s refining table. Her curiosity only grew stronger as she watched him work. If he could not rely on powerful killer moves, then how exactly did he intend to win this duel?

The gap between them gradually began to increase. However, the difference was subtle and not immediately obvious to an ordinary observer.

Xuanyan maintained a calm and steady rhythm throughout the entire process. Relying solely on basic alchemy refinement techniques without using a single killer move, he continued regulating the spiritual flame with remarkable precision. Under his control, the materials inside the refining vessel were already approaching the final stage of processing.

Yanmei, however, was beginning to feel the strain. Her mental energy had already been consumed far more quickly than she had expected, and nearly half of her spiritual reserves were gone. The duel had not lasted very long, and they were still only refining the base materials, something that should normally be effortless for someone with her level of experience.

According to logic, Yanmei should still have plentiful mental energy and should not be in a state of exhaustion. However, the reality of the competition was very different.

What truly exhausted her was the pressure created by Xuanyan’s steady progress. He displayed an incredibly solid foundation, relying solely on basic alchemy techniques to maintain a pace that even her killer moves could not greatly surpass. No matter how much she accelerated the refinement, Xuanyan continued advancing behind her with unwavering stability.

Yanmei had practiced alchemy almost her entire life, yet her foundation was nowhere near Xuanyan’s. That realization placed enormous pressure on her mind, especially with Mei Lingyao watching the duel from the side. Xuanyan maintained a stable rhythm while steadily closing the gap between them, forcing Yanmei to concentrate harder and harder just to keep her lead.

It seems my quasi-master attainment cannot match Xuanyan’s master-level attainment...

What should I do? Yanmei began to think and plan quickly while continuing to refine the Gu.

Yanmei quickly analyzed the situation while maintaining the rhythm of her refinement. Even with the two killer moves active, the gap between them had not widened as much as she expected. If this continued, Xuanyan’s advantage would become increasingly obvious as the refinement progressed.

Relying only on Gu refinement techniques would not be enough to defeat him. My greatest advantage lies in the number of refinement path killer movesthat I carefully prepared!

Whoosh!

With a sudden flick of her fingers, a tiny spark of blue lightning shot through the air. The streak of light moved with astonishing speed, crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye as it aimed directly at the refining flame in Xuanyan’s hand.

Ding!

A crisp metallic sound echoed inside the chamber.

The streak of lightning abruptly stopped four inches away from the flame, blocked by a slender sword that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The blade hovered steadily in the air, its edge perfectly intercepting the incoming attack. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Xuanyan’s gaze remained calm, and the refining flame in his other hand was not disturbed in the slightest.